Mobile stand

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a mobile stand in particular shading umbrellas, comprising a foot ( 1 ) which may be raised/lowered relative to the ground ( 4 ), furthermore a roller fixture ( 2 ) having at least three rollers and a lifting device connecting the foot ( 1 ) to the roller fixture ( 2 ) in a manner that the foot ( 1 ) is displaceable relative to the roller fixture ( 2 ). In order to optimize comfort of use and simultaneously to minimize danger of injury, said stand&#39;s design furthermore provides that the roller fixture ( 2 ) shall be configured above the foot ( 1 ). FIG.  1   a  illustrates the abstract.

The present invention relates to a mobile stand, in particular used with a shading umbrella and the like, comprising a stand foot, hereafter abbreviated “foot”, a roller fixture and a lifting device which connects the foot to the roller fixture in a manner that said foot is movable relative to the roller fixture. The present invention also relates to a foot for a stand such as defined above.

The stand above is applicable in a plurality of different ways. Illustrative such a stand may be used for arbitrary kinds of umbrellas such as patio umbrellas, rain umbrellas, exhibition umbrellas etc. Moreover said stand may be used as a wash stand, a wash drier stand, an exhibition or sales stand, in particular a postcard and clothes stand, or as an information, traffic sign or signalling stand, especially as regards a traffic marker stand. Furthermore this stand may be used for sports equipment, illustratively for a basketball basket or a volleyball net. Again it may be used in conjunction with illustratively metallic construction fences. Conceivably as well the said stand may be used for catering tables, for instance folding tables. Again flower buckets or radiant heaters may be set up on said stand.

The Swiss patent CH 682975 A5 discloses a movable shading umbrella stand or the like fitted with a foot acting as a housing and being displaceable up-and-down relative to the ground or floor. The inside of the foot receives a roller fixture consisting of pivotable arms each holding at its end a roller. The ends of the arms to which the rollers are affixed can be pivoted vertically by means of a lifting device. In this manner said device allows lowering the rollers within the foot enclosing the roller fixture, so that this foot comes to rest on the ground, or to be flipped out of the foot which then is lifted off this ground.

Aside the complex designs of the lifting device and of the roller fixture, in particular the pivoting arms, of this prior art, it also entails the drawback of entailing a gap of varying sizes between the underside of the stand housing constituted by the foot and the ground. When the foot has been raised, said gap between the housing underside and the ground is relatively large while almost vanishing in the lowered condition. These conditions on one hand entail substantial dangers of injury on account of the user possibly being caught in said gap. Especially as regards large shading umbrellas used in cafes or open-air markets for instance, there is danger—when the foot is being lowered—that the umbrella operator's extremities do enter said gap and painful injuries shall be incurred.

Another drawback is incurred in that the lifting device's mechanism situated underneath the housing as well as the mechanism of the roller fixture will easily soil, especially when the stand is put in place as the foot is raised, that is the housing being open downward and the gap between the housing underside and the ground being large. Rain water in particular, but also sand or soiling material, may easily move thereby underneath and into the housing and may cause damage, for instance corrosion.

Moreover the German patent document DE 199 04 473 A1 discloses a mobile support comprising a narrow foot which can be raised and lowered with respect to the ground, also a roller fixture with several rollers and mounted above the foot, and an adjustment unit connecting the foot to the roller support in a manner that this foot is displaceable relative to the roller fixture. In order to make the stand positionally stable, the system requires laborious extension of the upper support part between the ceiling and the bottom of a space in order to be clamped in place, since adequate stability and immobility of said support critically depend on extending said support followed by a clamping action.

The objective of the present invention is to create a stand allowing high immobility and positional stability in simple, convenient manner.

The invention attains its solution to the above discussed problem by means of a mobile stand applicable in particular to large shading umbrellas and comprising a foot which may be raised/lowered relative to the ground, a roller fixture having at least three rollers and configured above the foot, and a lifting device connecting the foot to the roller fixture in a manner that said foot is displaceable relative to the roller fixture, the weight of the foot exceeding that of the roller fixture in such a way that positional stand stability is assured predominantly by the foot's weight. As a result, the outer stand part constituting the housing always shall be the same height above the ground or floor while simultaneously the heaviest component, namely the foot, shall be covered by the roller fixture and hence shall be less accessible, as a result of which the danger of injury is reduced.

In especially advantageous manner, the roller fixture is fitted along its outer periphery with a downward collar in a manner that this collar shall laterally enclose the foot. In this manner the foot is enclosed upward and laterally by a protective housing which is spatially fixed relative to the ground when said foot is raised/lowered. the lateral and collar-shaped portion of the roller fixture precludes the user from accidentally putting his/her hand or foot underneath the heavy, descending foot. This feature significantly reduces the danger of injury due to catching and squeezing limbs. A roller fixture which, as described just above, completely encloses the foot regardless of this foot being raised or lowered, also offers ideal protection against soiling and rainwater to the inner components because the gap between the lower housing edge and the ground is not increased even when the foot is raised.

It is understood that alternatively or in addition, the roller fixture shall comprise a preferably plastic cover fitted with a downward-pointing collar along its circumference in a manner that the collar shall enclose both the roller fixture and the foot. Accordingly the roller fixture does not mandatorily constitute the foot-enclosing housing, instead such a feature also may be attained by a cover that is an element of the roller fixture. Even such a cover prevents the user from accidentally being caught underneath the heavy foot, or water or dirt getting underneath or inside the stand. This cover advantageously is detachable from the remaining stand to allow easily exchanging it.

It is possible to further reduce the danger both of soiling and of rainwater penetration into or underneath the stand in that the collar—namely the collar-shaped portion of the cover and/or the collar-shaped portion of the roller fixture—shall be fitted at its underside with a circumferential and preferably resilient soil repelling element, in particular made of rubber or of bristles. Such a soil-repellant element extends the collar downward until it touches the ground or floor without scratching or damaging the surface. Such a feature nearly precludes squeezing human limbs and the penetration of rain or contaminating water.

Advantageously the roller fixture—which constitutes the upper stand portion—is intrinsically rigid, that is it is devoid of expensive joints that may require repairs such as are used in the state of the art. As a result the stand also can support heavy objects such as flower buckets or gas bottles and remain stable.

The roller fixture may be made in many designs. Illustratively it may comprise a plate and/or a rack in particular composed of pipes, bars or shapes such as U-channels, T-bars and the like. Advantageously the roller fixture subtends a support surface parallel to the ground, as a result of which objects deposited on it shall rest on it securely and in stable position.

For its own protection or to protect objects resting on it, the roller fixture may be fitted with a preferably plastic cover element. Preferably and as already discussed above, this cover element comprises a circumferential, downward-pointing collar. However the cover element also may be only partially provided, for instance on the upper roller fixture position, in order to attain especially rigorous protection from objects resting on said fixture.

Again, the foot, which is mounted underneath and within the roller fixture, may be designed in many different ways. Illustratively the foot may be a plate or a rack made up of rods, pipes or shapes such as U-channels, T-bars and the like. The foot should be made of a heavy material, for instance a metal, in particular steel or lead. Preferably the foot weight shall be larger than the roller fixture weight. A heavier foot significantly raises the positional stability of the stand of the invention. This applies even more in that the foot is mounted below the roller fixture and in this manner contributes to securing an especially low center of gravity.

When the foot is a rack made up of rods, pipes or shapes such as U-channels, T-bars or the like, this rack shall be especially advantageously designed to receive weight segments. On one hand these weight segments allow equipping the foot with one individual weight matching the particular application and on the other hand to remove all other weight segments from the foot and thereby to match the foot weight and hence the total stand weight in a manner that this stand can be stored in simple manner, in particular by hanging it up.

For its own protection and that of the ground or floor, the foot may be fitted at its underside with several paws in particular made of plastic. Alternatively or additionally the foot's underside also may be fitted with a preferably plastic coating.

In a preferred embodiment mode of the present invention, the foot is configured within the zone enclosed by the rollers. However the foot also may laterally project beyond the zone bounded by the rollers, in which case clearances may be fitted into the roller zones in the foot. The design of the present invention offers the advantage the full space underneath the roller fixture—except that to be saved for the rollers—may be used for the foot, whereby the entire stand can be made shallow. For this reason the lifting device shall be preferably configured above the roller fixture. The space below the roller fixture should be provided solely for the foot.

The lifting device to displace the foot relative to the roller fixture and hence to raise and lower it relative to the floor or ground also may be implemented in different designs. Preferably the lifting device comprises one or more of the following means: a lever, a rocking element, a cable or chain drive, a gear unit. All these means allow the foot to rest on the roller fixture, which is stationary, to the floor, in order to rise off this floor. The raising/lowering motion also may be implemented using an adjusting and in particular an electric motor, or at least to support said motion. In especially advantageous manner, said motor shall be remote-controlled. Alternatively and in very simple manner, only a grip may be provided, which shall be connected to the foot and projects upward out of the roller fixture. Using this grip, the foot may be manually lifted somewhat and then, for instance upon a slight rotation, be latched into the raised position.

In order to roll the stand when the foot is raised in the simplest possible manner, a pushrod may be advantageously used and preferably shall be detachably connected to the stand. As needed, that is when the stand must be moved, said push rod can be connected to the stand and again be removed once the stand has been moved into the desired position. Moreover the pushrod may be designed as a component of the lifting device. In that case the pushrod may be used to operate the lifting device.

The above consequential and discussed problem is solved in the present invention by a stand's foot and in particular for a stand as described above. Preferably the foot is fitted with detachable weighting segments. The foot so designed can be loaded with different weights depending on application. Also the weights may be removed entirely, allowing easily storing the foot. Accordingly this foot is convenient and presents but little risk of injury.

A number of ways are available to design the stand, or the foot of the stand of the present invention. These designs are defined for instance in the claims following claim 1 and claim 24 and are discussed in the description below of an illustrative embodiment of the invention and in relation to the appended drawings.

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b schematically show a first embodiment mode of the stand of the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment mode of the stand of the invention,

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show an embodiment mode of the lifting device for a stand of the invention, and

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment mode of the foot of the invention.

FIG. 1 a shows an embodiment mode of a mobile stand of the invention which in the present case is designed as a stand for a shading umbrella and which comprises a foot 1, a roller fixture 2 fitted with several rollers 3 and an omitted lifting device connecting the foot 1 to the roller fixture 2 in a way that the foot 1 is displaceable relative to the roller fixture 2. In other words, by resting against the roller fixture 2, the foot 1 can be raised/lowered by the lifting device relative to the floor 4. The raised state is shown in FIG. 1 a and the lowered state is shown in FIG. 1 b.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, the roller fixture 2—which is mounted in the manner of the invention above the foot 1—is fitted along its outer periphery with a downward-pointing collar 5. This collar-like component of the roller fixture 2 offers the advantage of subtending a housing enclosing the inside of the stand, in particular the foot 1 and thus protects the user from being caught by the foot or hand underneath the movable and typically very heavy foot 1. This protection is made available in that the housing—consisting of the roller fixture 2 and the collar 5—always shall be at the same height regardless of the foot 1 having been raised or lowered. As a result the width of the gap between the ground 4 and the lower edge of the roller fixture 2 will remain constant. At the same time the design of the invention effectively protects against soiling and rain water that, even when the foot 1 has been raised, cannot easily penetrate underneath the stand.

In the shown embodiment, the foot 1 is fitted at its underside with several plastic paws 6 to protect both the said foot and the ground 4 against damage. As shown in FIG. 1 b, the foot 1 when in its lowered position rests evenly on the paws 6.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment mode of a stand of the invention which differs from the previously described embodiment mode in that the roller fixture 2 is not designed like a collar on the periphery of this fixture. Instead the roller fixture 2 is fitted with a cover element 7 which in this particular design is made of plastic and which comprises along its outer periphery a downward-pointing collar 8 laterally enclosing the foot 1. Accordingly the plastic cover element, and in particular its collar-shaped rim, assumes the protection which in the embodiment mode of FIG. 1 was provided by the collar-shaped rim of the roller fixture 2.

The embodiment mode of FIG. 2 differs furthermore from that of FIG. 1 by its foot 1 being different. In the case of FIG. 1, the foot 1 is configured exclusively within zone enclosed by the rollers 3. In FIG. 2, on the other hand, the foot 1 is somewhat larger and projects laterally beyond the zone bounded by the rollers 3. Clearances 9 are provided in the foot 1 to allow the rollers 3 to run freely in all directions.

The operation of a representative lifting device is shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b, said device allowing moving the foot 1 relative to the roller fixture 2 and as a result allowing raising/lowering the foot 1 relative to the ground.

In the present case the lifting device is a rocker element 10 pivotable connected in the vicinity of its pivot point 11 to an angled iron 12 which in turn is rigidly joined to the foot 1. A bracket 13 is welded at the underside of the rocker element 10, a displacement roller 14 being affixed to the end of said bracket. The foot 1 rests by means of said displacement roller 14 on the roller fixture 2.

In FIG. 3 a, the rocker element 10 is in its lower position on its right-hand side, as a result of which the foot 1 is raised. It is understood that the foot 1 in that position is self-latching. Therefore the user need not himself/herself hold the foot 1 in the raised state when displacing the stand. In FIG. 3 b, the rocker element 10 is in the lower position on its left side, and consequently the foot 1 is in its lower position.

Illustratively, the rocker element 10 may be displaced manually or using the human foot. To increase leverage, i.e. the lever arm length, the present embodiment also provides a pushrod 15 detachably connected to the rocker element 10. Using the pushrod 15, and provided the foot 1 be in its raised position, allows simultaneously moving the stand by means of the rollers 3.

Finally FIG. 4 shows an embodiment mode of the foot 1 that is a rack comprising an outer, circular frame 16 and T-bars 17 configured radially, i.e. in star-like manner. The T-bars are configured in a manner to subtend eight area segments of equal size in the pedestal of the foot 1 that each may receive weight segments 18.

In the embodiment mode shown in FIG. 4, two weight segments 18 have been placed on the pedestal. These weight segments 18 may be inserted in simple manner using a grip 19 and also be removed as needed in order to individually match the weight of the foot 1 to particular needs.

The shown foot 1 may be used separately for instance to receive a large commercial umbrella. However the foot 1 also may be a stand component as already shown above in relation to FIGS. 1 through 3. 

1. A mobile stand, in particular for a shading umbrella, comprising: a stand foot, hereafter foot, which can be raised/lowered relative to the ground, a roller fixture which is fitted with at least three rollers and which is configured above the foot, a lifting device connecting the foot in such manner to the roller fixture that the foot is displaceable relative to the roller fixture, the weight of the foot being larger than that of the roller fixture in a manner that the positional stability of the stand is preponderantly assured by the weight of the foot.
 2. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller fixture is intrinsically rigid.
 3. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller fixture comprises a plate.
 4. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller fixture is a rack, in particular composed of rods, bars or shapes such as U channels, T-bars and the like.
 5. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller fixture constitutes a plane support surface parallel to the ground.
 6. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller fixture comprises a cover element in particular made of plastic.
 7. Stand as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the cover element comprises a downward pointing collar at its external periphery in a manner that the collar laterally encloses the foot and the roller fixture.
 8. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller fixture comprises a downward-pointing collar at its outer periphery in a manner that the collar laterally encloses the foot.
 9. Stand as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the collar comprises a preferably resilient soil-repelling element, in particular made of rubber or bristles, that runs along its lower edge.
 10. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot comprises a plate.
 11. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot comprises a rack in particular consisting of rods, bars or shapes such as U-channels, T-bars and the like.
 12. Stand as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the rack is configured in a manner that several weight segments may be received by it.
 13. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot is fitted at its underside with paws in particular made of plastic.
 14. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot comprises at least at its underside a coating in particular made of plastic.
 15. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot is configured within the zone enclosed by the rollers.
 16. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot laterally extends beyond the zone enclosed by the rollers, clearances being optionally provided in the region of the rollers.
 17. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the foot is made of a metal, in particular steel or lead.
 18. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the weight of the foot is larger than that of the roller fixture.
 19. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the lifting device is configured above the roller fixture.
 20. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in order to displace the foot relative to the roller fixture, the lifting device comprises one or more of the following means: a lever, a rocker element, a cable or chain drive, a gear unit.
 21. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the lifting device comprises an adjustment motor, in particular an electric motor which is preferably remote-controlled.
 22. Stand as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a pushrod is connected in preferably detachable manner to the stand.
 23. Stand as claimed in claim 22, characterized in that the pushrod is a component of the lifting device.
 24. (canceled) 